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"These are the ordinances"
(Exodus 21:1)
Shvat 24, 5772/February 17, 2012
Just before the revelation at Mount Sinai, Moshe Rabbenu - Moses our Master - was working day and night, sitting in judgement before the people. The entire nation would approach "his honor" with problems great and small. Moshe's father-in-law Yitro saw right away that such a system was unsustainable. Neither Moshe nor the people could suffer such a situation for any length of time. Moshe needed help and the people needed shorter lines. No sooner had Yitro made his proposal to reform the judiciary by training judges and establishing separate courts, than Torah makes an abrupt switch. |